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Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder

53%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
story, grinding
53% User Score Based on 322 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCWindows

About

"Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder" is a single-player Role Playing game with exceptional mechanics and amazing graphics. In this rogue-like adventure, inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, command an avatar of a Deadly Sin in 1v1 fights against powerful demons. Create unique double cards by collecting red and blue abilities, expand your city and unlock new characters, cards, and vendors for your underworld kingdom.

Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder screenshot
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder screenshot
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder screenshot
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder screenshot
Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder screenshot
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53%
Audience ScoreBased on 322 reviews
gameplay60 positive mentions
grinding14 negative mentions

  • Unique card mechanics that allow players to influence enemy actions, adding a strategic layer to combat.
  • Visually striking art style and engaging atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
  • Custom card creation adds depth to deck-building, allowing for creative strategies.
  • Feels unfinished with a lack of content, including missing animations and unclear mechanics.
  • Gameplay can become repetitive and lacks variety in card options and enemy encounters.
  • Balancing issues lead to some characters being overpowered while others feel underwhelming.
  • gameplay
    208 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its unique mechanics and artistic style but criticizing its execution and depth. While some find the strategic elements engaging, others describe the gameplay as repetitive, unbalanced, and lacking polish, leading to a sense of boredom over time. Overall, the game shows potential with its innovative concepts, but it requires further refinement and development to fully realize its promise.

    • “The gameplay loop was crisp, and because of the entropic nature of which cards you would draw, it stays fresh.”
    • “The gameplay is unique and fun; you can predict what the enemy will do and prepare, or you can make the enemy do something you want. It's strategic with little RNG.”
    • “Nadir is truly a gem, mixing together deck and base building mechanics, all of that cast in a wonderfully bleak and disgusting style!”
    • “I really like the concept and art of this game, but the gameplay and mechanics leave a lot to be desired.”
    • “The core mechanics feel uninspired and shallow, resulting in repetitive and monotonous gameplay loops that quickly grow tiresome.”
    • “Despite the effort put into it, it's lacking in mechanical depth, personality, polish, and narrative.”
  • graphics
    98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are frequently praised for their unique and captivating art style, which many players find to be the most appealing aspect of the experience. However, there are notable criticisms regarding the game's unfinished feel, lack of polish, and issues with animations and UI, suggesting that while the aesthetic is strong, it is not fully realized in gameplay. Overall, the visuals are a highlight, but they are marred by technical shortcomings and a lack of content.

    • “Nadir undoubtedly boasts a visually unique art style that initially captivates the senses.”
    • “With its interesting and well-done grimdark art style, it's competent UI/tutorialization, solid meta-progression, and uniqueness to each run, this game is definitely a must-experience for those in love with the genre.”
    • “The art style is great, the control the game gives you is immense (deck size, cards, where and what to play cards on).”
    • “The artwork on the cards sucks as well.”
    • “Visually there is a problem with the hub icons being over the artwork.”
    • “Currently the animations are slow and minimal, the information displayed is a bit obscure, the translations are not great, and the UI/graphics feel unpolished.”
  • story
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is largely criticized for its absence, with players noting that while the art and concepts are appealing, they do not translate into a meaningful narrative. Many reviewers express disappointment over the lack of character development and a cohesive storyline, suggesting that the game feels incomplete and casual. Despite some interesting features and potential for lore, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, with calls for more substantial storytelling elements in future updates.

    • “You know how the cards in MTG will have flavor text at the bottom and you can piece together a story (a whole different universe actually) if you read enough of them?”
    • “Cool game, great concept, wicked art, I like the lore (not really any story but that's cool for this style of game), and they found a way to make a roguelike game feel unique from the others (Ring of Pain, Slay the Spire, Monster Train).”
    • “Love the vibe and the aesthetic, looking forward to more story/content.”
    • “There's no story, so you do stuff just because, and the game ends with a 'to be announced.'”
    • “The characters you play as have little personality besides a text backstory.”
    • “Conclusion: great game idea and mechanics, bad execution, needs a few more months in the oven and hopefully some decent story mode along with it.”
  • music
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the moody and atmospheric soundtrack that enhances the game's theme, others find it bland and unengaging, leading them to mute the audio or opt for their own playlists. Overall, the soundtrack is described as fitting but lacking in variety, with some moments of tension that resonate well with the gameplay.

    • “Nice moody soundtrack complements the atmosphere.”
    • “Music: pretty good.”
    • “- music is great, feels tense - struck the right chord with the theme of the game.”
    • “Background music is a little bland - after the first run I ended up muting the audio.”
    • “Not much in the music department, but you can just listen to your own if you want.”
    • “Just have Spotify on stand-by because the soundtrack is beyond boring.”
  • grinding
    16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be repetitive and tedious, particularly when it comes to collecting resources and progressing through the tech tree. While some enjoy the game's premise and overall fun factor, many express frustration with the grind, especially in the late game, where it can feel like a chore. Overall, the grinding can detract from the experience, making progression feel tedious for some players.

    • “The base building is nice too, and overall it's not too grindy.”
    • “Very repetitive and grindy to collect everything, and it quickly becomes a tiresome chore to get resources. I just wanted to be done with it.”
    • “Warning, it is very grindy as to progress the tech tree, you need to obtain a lot of materials from winning battles.”
    • “Progression feels tedious.”
  • stability
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that contribute to an unfinished feel. Many players noted problems with mechanics, level selection, and graphical user interface (GUI) elements, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the game appears to be in a state that many feel is more akin to early access rather than a polished full release.

    • “A buggy, unfinished feeling mess which I was surprised to see is the full release and not early access.”
    • “It's got a decent progression system that is definitely intriguing, but the game is so buggy right now it's hard to enjoy.”
    • “Several mechanics and achievements are buggy, the game sometimes stutters, and there are several embarrassing grammatical errors.”
  • atmosphere
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its great art, moody soundtrack, and immersive lore, which collectively enhance the overall experience. However, some users feel that certain elements detract from this atmosphere, suggesting that it is fragile and easily disrupted. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a significant highlight, though it may be inconsistent.

    • “Great art and atmosphere!!”
    • “Nice moody soundtrack complements the atmosphere.”
    • “I love the atmosphere and all of the themes, and all of the little info given about certain lore aspects really immerses me into the experience.”
    • “This destroys what little atmosphere the game has, and that's all this game would otherwise have.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers some replayability through its procedurally generated runs, a common feature in the roguelite genre that adds variety to each playthrough. However, many users feel it lacks the depth and replay value found in other titles, making it more of a one-time experience rather than a game to return to frequently.

    • “- Procedurally generated runs; another staple of the roguelite genre, but as always, it enhances the replayability of each run a bit, so it's nice to see here.”
    • “Not nearly as replayable as many other entries in the genre, but interesting enough to see each thing once.”
  • optimization
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been criticized for being unfinished, leading to a lack of engagement with the deck optimization options. Players feel detached due to the absence of clear guidance on improving builds or identifying redundant elements, which detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Honestly, he was fun to try out once, but not worth playing with the unfinished and unoptimized gameplay.”
    • “As a result, I feel detached from the deck optimization options offered, with no subtle mechanical nudges to steer me in a direction for my build, or a clear clue on what might be considered redundant or an improvement.”
  • character development
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is hindered by a broken development tree and numerous bugs, including card typos and functionality issues. While the character designs are charming and the environments are beautifully crafted, these technical flaws detract significantly from the overall experience.

    • “His fights have noticeable animation lag, his character development tree is broken, and he has more card typos ('apply 1 intimidation/panic to the enemy..') and at least one bugged card (abuse text says 'replace 1 card' but fails to do so).”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a lack of emotional engagement with the game, citing that the card combos and upgrades feel unworthy of pursuit, leading to a disconnection from the gameplay experience. While the visuals and overall gameplay are appreciated, the overwhelming complexity of the levels detracts from the emotional investment, making it difficult to maintain focus on key elements.

  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers note that while the game incorporates humorous elements, they often feel out of place within the otherwise grim and dark setting. Additionally, some players have experienced UI bugs that contribute to a disjointed experience when navigating menus.

    • “The humorous elements feel oddly placed in such a grim dark world, adding a unique contrast that keeps the experience engaging.”
    • “The humor in the game provides a refreshing break from the otherwise serious tone, making the gameplay more enjoyable.”
    • “The witty dialogue and funny character interactions bring a lightheartedness that balances the darker themes of the game.”
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5h Median play time
5h Average play time
5-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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